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By Lauren Deason
PGATOUR.com Editorial Coordinator

Editor's note: Louisville defeated Wake Forest 24-13 in the FedEx Orange Bowl.

No one expected them to make it this far. Picked to finish last in its division in football, Wake Forest had never won more than eight games in a season and had not won an Atlantic Coast Conference title since 1970.

To use a golf analogy, Wake Forest is to a perennial powerhouse like Michigan what Corey Pavin is to Tiger Woods. Not supposed to be competitive in 2006, but they were. Not supposed to win a title -- in baseball or women's field hockey, perhaps, but not in football in the recently expanded ACC with the likes of Virginia Tech, Boston College and Florida State.

In the golf world, the college in Winston-Salem, N.C. has had much success, with more connections to the PGA TOUR than almost any other school. Alums include Arnold Palmer, Billy Andrade, Curtis Strange, Scott Hoch, Jay Haas, Bill Haas, Len Mattiace, Lanny Wadkins, Jay Sigel, Leonard Thompson, Ron Whittaker, Gary Hallberg, Patrick Damron, Joe Inman and Kyle Reifers.

But it's the football program that's in the spotlight right now, having won the Dr. Pepper ACC Championship game in Jacksonville, Fla. against George Tech. It was a rainy day in early December, and the 9-6 score wasn't as exciting as many had hoped, but Wake pulled through to make an elite Bowl Championship Series game.

"It was cold -- we froze our tails off -- but it was just so great," said Andrade, who took his 12-year-old son to the game. "It was one of those games you never thought you were going to win. Being there, I kind of equate it to a great pitcher's duel -- not a lot of hitting or runs but I'm pretty excited I was there. We've never really won so it was kind of weird. We all went back to where we were tailgating but we've never really celebrated like that before."

Billy Andrade will be pulling for Wake Forest tonight. (Donald Miralle/Getty Images)

So just as the PGA TOUR is ready to kick off the FedExCup this week, the No. 15 Demon Deacons kicked off in the FedEx Orange Bowl against No. 5 Louisville on Tuesday. (Editor's Note: Louisville defeated Wake Forest, 24-13)

The FedEx connection isn't lost on the many golfers who will be in attendance, themselves looking forward to beginning a new year in their own sport.

"The players that play the best will get rewarded at the end of the year. I'm interested in seeing the excitement that it generates," said Andrade, a four-time winner on TOUR. "The FedExCup will draw excitement from the fans and it will be an exciting finish with the playoffs. I'm looking forward to getting started. We are all itching to get started, everyone not at [the Mercedes-Benz Championship in] Kapalua wishes they could start there."

"I think it's great for FedEx to put up all that money for [TOUR] players to play for more money," said Len Mattiace, who won the FedEx St. Jude Classic in 2002 along with the Nissan Open. "I have gotten to know those fellows real well, [Executive Vice President of Marketing Development and Corporate Communications] Michael Glenn is a good friend.

"It's unbelievable how much money they are able to give to the TOUR. I think it's going to be great and definitely bring the TOUR further up competitively against other sports. We have always had the money list as a guide to how good the players are and now the points list will also be another measure and I think it's great for FedEx to do that."

As the TOUR ushers in a new era in golf, fans at the Orange Bowl will honor one of the greats of the old, as Arnold Palmer was named an honorary captain for his alma mater along with Muhammad Ali for Louisville.

For those who are fortunate enough to know Palmer as more than just a TOUR legend, it will be a special treat to see him recognized at the game.

Mattiace said that Palmer, along with former golf coach Jesse Haddock, was one of the main reasons that the WFU golf program has attracted so many great players and produced countless TOUR pros.

"He was the leader," Mattiace said. "He was the original one with [roommate and teammate] Buddy Worsham. With Arnie being the 'King,' everyone wants to be like Arnie. He is great in golf and successful in life.

"The Orange Bowl is such a huge football bowl game I think it is fitting for Arnie to do that. Arnie had a huge impact on me. I remember him writing me a letter as a senior in high school asking if I would attend the school on his scholarship. That was the first communication I had with him and even when I was at Wake and after we remained in touch."

Andrade was another member of the Wake Forest golf team who attended on Palmer's scholarship.

"He is been a big influence professionally and off the golf course. He is just a wonderful person and has done so much for all of us. On top of that, he has done so much for Wake Forest, for the golf program and the university," said Andrade. "Wake is a family and to have a leader like Arnold setting such a great example is pretty cool.

"I'm just a lucky person to have the opportunity to know him and to have been a part of his "boys". There will be a lot of his boys at his game, so this is pretty neat."

From Palmer, one of the oldest, to Kyle Reifers, one of the youngest on TOUR, the Demon Deacon golfing alums are excited to see their team take on Louisville and anxious for the new season to begin.

"It's really exciting, I just can't wait to get out there. I'm trying to be patient and I'm really excited about where I am," said Reifers, who will play on the PGA TOUR in 2007 after surviving the PGA TOUR National Qualifying Tournament. "I think I'll be the second youngest guy on TOUR next year and I'm really looking forward to it.

For now, though, the 2006 WFU graduate, a one-time underdog who won his professional debut on the Nationwide Tour last year after qualifying for the Chattanooga Classic on Monday of that week, is looking forward to the game and has high hopes for his similar, Cinderella-story team.

"Pretty much everyone that I've talked to, at least the graduates, are going to be there. It's going to be a good reunion," he said.

"I saw Jay Haas and Bill Haas at the ACC Championship game and Joe Inman was there. We are not a very big school and when not, you are all family," said Andrade.

Besides, this could be a once-in-a-lifetime experience for the school, which has about 54,500 living graduates and sold out its allotment of 17, 500 tickets in days, so the Rhode Island native thinks everyone will take advantage of this opportunity.

"This has just been a dream year for the program, Coach [Jim Grobe], everybody," Andrade said. "When you grow up in New England, you never know if the [Boston] Red Sox will get to the World Series, let alone win. Same with the [New England] Patriots -- you go when they get an opportunity to go to Super Bowl because they may never get there again. Being a BCS, everyone associated with Wake should go."

As with everything in sports, from the FedEx Orange Bowl to the FedExCup, it's nearly impossible to predict who will win, both this year and in the future. But Reifers has an optimistic prediction for his team for their first game in 2007.

"Wake Forest 24, Louisville 17."